Ski binding



Dec. 8, 1964 Filed May 2, 1963 I. F. BUGG SKI BINDING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 SECTION DI-IH F l 6.2

INVENTOR. IRVING F. BUGG BY '4 gammyaufi U18u0mm H IS ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1964 Filed May 2, 1963 I. F. BUGG SKI BINDING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. IRVING F. BUGG 03MB awma.

H IS ATTORNEY United States Patent )filice 3,166,421 Patented Dec. 8, 1964 3,160,421 SKI BINDlliG Irving F. Bug Dalton, Mass. (Washin ton Mountain Road, Becket, Mass.)

Filed May 2, 1963, Ser. No. 277,516 3 Claims. ea. Zea-11.35

This invention relates to ski binding devices. The sport of skiing is gaining a popularity, a yearly growing popularity, that threatens to suupass that enjoyed by the sports of golf and bowling. This mounting interest in skiing has magnified the need for safety in the sport. For both the novice and the expert there is an urgent want for a ski binding which will permit faithful response to the various and abrupt movements of the skiers body and yet one which will readily release when abnormal and excessive stresses or strains occur.

To date, no single ski binding has satisfied this need. The consequence has been many broken bones suffered by the anxious amatures, the pseudo-experts and the meister sleiers.

Experience has also revealed that only the most expensive and carefully constructed ski boots can long withstand the terrific forces brought to bear on the points connecting the sole with the upper part of the boot. Before long the soles of even the higher quality boots begin to pull free of the upper part of the boot.

The sport needs a means which will effectively eliminate this costly and dangerous condition.

It is \a principal object of the invention to present a ski binding which is both simple and safe.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a ski binding which is adaptable to the demands of both the beginner and the more advanced skier.

A further object of the invention is to present a ski binding which may be used with or without a long-thong attachment.

Yet another object is to provide a ski binding which releases in response to excessive torsional stresses.

A still further object of the invention is to offer a ski binding which releases in response to a predetermined torsional stress or to a predetermined force in a direction away from the top surface of the ski, as in a forward fall.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a ski binding which permits the skier to put on or to take ofi the skis without unwrapping the long-thongs.

It is yet a further object of the invention to present a ski binding which eliminates strain between the sole and the upper part of the boot.

These and additional objects and features of the inven tion will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred specific forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings to exemplify the generic inventive concepts defined in the broader of the claims hereof:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of one of the forms of ski binding according to the invention including toe mounting means, heel mounting means and long-thong attachment;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on line III-Ill of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view showing the relative positions of the toe mounting means, heel mounting means and long-thong attachment in half release position;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of another preferred embodiment of the invention which includes a forward-fall release feature;

FIGURE 5 is the side elevational view of FIGURE 4 showing the boot raised to forward-fall or emergency-release positign.- i

In the drawings similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

Referring now to the drawings: in the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 3 the invention comprises a conventional ski ltl having a heelplate 11 mounted thereon. The heelplate may be a unitary member, as shown, or in two sections so as to accommodate boots of different width. On opposite sides of heelplate 11 are a pair of upturned cars 12 each having a lobe portion 13 pointing in the direction of the front of ski 10: A tension-adjustable spring 14 is attached directly to the upturned ears 12 at eyes 15. The tension-adjustable spring 14 is adapted to seat in an inclined groove in the heel of ski boot 16.

Fastened to the ski boot by means of long-thong 17 is a long-thong attachment 13. It comprises a cross member 19 and two upright side members 20 extending therefrom. The upright members 20 terminate in eyelets 21 which serve as the anchor points for long-thong 17. The long-thong attachment 18 is shown as having a pair of end members or pins 22 extending outwardly from a point about where the cross member 19 and the upright member 20 meet. End members or pins 22 are designed to extend underneath the lobe portions 13 of the upturned ears 12. Backward and forward sliding of the long-thong attachment 18 is prevented by means of anchor-pins 2-3 which seat within holl-ow headed screw members 24 and which are driven into the heel of the ski boot.

The toe mounting means, depicted and described generally herein, forms no part of the present invention apart from its being a necessary cooperating means used with the heel mounting means, either with or without the longthong attachment. Any of the several pivoting or swiveling toe mounting means of the prior art may be employed. The two necessary requirements of this means are: it must provide rearward thrust to the ski boot, so that the ski hoot will be forced into engagement with the'tensionadjustable spring 14, and it must respond to abnormal torsional stresses by pivoting or swiveling to the left or the right to permit complete release of the ski boot from the ski. Thus, the toe mounting means illustrated in FIG- URES 1 and 3 is generally designated by numeral 25 with no further description. Toe mounting means 25 bears against a toe-plate 26 secured to the toe of the boot and thrusts the boot backwards against spring 14 until a proper counterthnist is obtained. Spring 14 has suitable adjusting means whereby the length, and thereby the tension, of the spring may be varied. For example, threaded male and fem-ale couplings may be located at the ends of the spring.

As indicated above, the long-thong attachment need not be employed. The use of the heel mounting means alone with the toe mounting means provides an extremely simple and safe binding for the beginning skier.

The long-thong attachment is intended for use by the skier experienced enough to handle a binding which effects tight and positive securement of the boot to the ski, so that they are inseparable during all normal skiing maneuvers. Moreover, the attachment transfers the load which would normally bear on the connecting points between the. sole and the upper part of the ski boot, to the long-thong and to the ski via the lobe of the upturned cars. This eliminates completely the danger of the sole being torn free of the upper part ofthe ski boot.

When employing the long-thong attachment, 'it is secured to the boot in the manner illustrated in FIGURES l and 2. With the toe mounting means in a retracted position, the ski boot is placed on the ski so that the end of the heel is in advance of the spring 14 and the end members or pins 22 are in advance of the lobe portions 13. The toe mounting means is then operated to thrust the boot to the rear, where the spring engages the heel and the pins 22 are captivated underneath the lobe portions of the upturned ears.

The ski boot is released from the ski by the pivot action of the toe mounting means during a twisting fall. This is true both with and without the long-thong attachment;

The embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5 differs from that illustrated in the other figures in that the lobe portion and the anchor points for the adjustable spring are located on a. unique, separate, rotatable member attached to the upturned ears 12. This embodiment combines a forward-fall release feature with the torsional release embodiment.

In FIGURES 4 and 5, a pair of rotatable members 27 are pivotally attached at 28 to the outside surface of each of the uptumed ears 12 of the heelplate 11. Each rotatnation 31 which curves toward the rear of the ski. tThe heelplate 11 slightly overhangs the edges of the ski so as to act as a stop for an'appendage 32 which is locatedon the lower portion and somewhat to the rear of the inside surface of the rotatable members 27. The appendage 32 functions to prevent the rotatable members 27 from rotating beyond the point where the lobe portions 2% would dip below a line parallel to the top surface of the ski.

In other words, the appendage prevents e'arthward rota- The design of the heelplate tion of the lobe portion. can be such that only a metal tab overhangs the edges of the ski and acts as a stop for the appendage 32. As a third modification the heelplate wouldnot overhang at all but the appendage would rotate through its arc, traveling in a channel cut inthe sides of the ski.

The ends of the spring 14 areslidably tracked in said slotted sections 30. When employing this embodiment with the long-thong attachment, the ski boot is placed on the ski so that the end of the heel is in advance of the spring 14 and the end members or pins 22 of the longthong attachment are in advance of the lobe portions 29 of the rotatable members 27. The toe mounting means is then operated to thrust the boot to the rear where the spring engages the heel. The rotatable members are then rotated so that thelobe portion is pointed toward the front of the ski and the ends of the spring are seated in the bottom termination 31. At the same time the pins 22 will be captivated underneath the lobe portions of the rotatable members. Thus, when the binding and the skier are in the go position the ends of the spring are located in the rearwardly curving, bottom terminations 31 and the pins 22 are in position beneath the lobes, as shown in FIGURE 4. When the binding and the skier are in the no go position or in a forward fall release, as shown in FIGURE 5, the ends of the spring are at the opposite ends of the slotted section 30. It will be noted that in this embodiment, as in that illustrated in FIGURES 13, the boot will still release in response'to a twisting fall.

The foregoing embodiment can also be employed without the long-thong attachment, in which case it would function the same as that illustrated in FIGURES 1-3 without the attachment.

The design of the long-thong attachment is not limited to that shown in the drawing. As long as the attachment can be captivated underneath the lobes of the ears of FIG- URE 1 or the lobes of the rotatable members of FIGURE V 4 'by means of outwardly extending pins, the precise construction can vary widely. .For example, the attachment can be constructed of a single strip of metal having two anglebends to form the upright side members. The side members can terminate. inany convenient arrangement which will serve as an anchoring point for the long-thong, e.g., an eyelet, a loop in the upright, etc. The attachment can alsobe constructed of a cross bar which has an upright member located near each end thereof, the ends of the bar extending beneath the lobe portions.

Backward and forward sliding ofthe long-thong attachment may be prevented by means other than that shown in FIGURE 2. The sliding can be prevented by having the cross member ofthe attachment seat in arecess in the heel. 'It also may be prevented by having the cross member of the long-thong attachment seat itself in a plate, which is'fastened to the heel. The plate would have a, slot or depression corresponding to the shape of the cross member. A preferredmodification of the means shown in FIGURE 2 comprises the use of a metal plate fastened to the heel. I This plate and the heel each have a pair of correspondingly spaced holes adapted to receive anchor-pins 22. This arrangement'eliminates both lateral and backward and forward sliding of the attachment.

While certain specific embodiments have been dis- I closed in the'foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intendend that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

. Iclaim: 4 t

1. In a ski binding, a heel mounting means and a toe mountingmeans cooperating to permit release of a ski boot when subjected to predetermined forces, said heel mounting means comprising a heelplate mounted on a ski, said heelplate having a pair of upturned ears located thereon so as to be adjacent the sides of the ski boot heel, a rotatable member attached to the outside surface of each ear, said member having a lobe portion pointing toward the front of the ski, a point of rotation located rearwardly of said lobe and a slotted section at right angles to said lobe located rearwardly of the point of rotation, said slotted section having a bottom termination which curves toward the rear of the ski; the ends of a tension-adjustable spring member being slidably tracked in said slotted sections, said spring being adapted to seat in an inclined groove in said heel when the ends of said spring are located at said bottom termination; said rotatable member having an appendage located on the lower portion and somewhat to the rear of the inside surface of the rotatable members, said appendage adapted to prevent the rotatable member from rotating in a direction which would cause said lobe portion to dip below a line parallel tothe, surface of, said ski; said toe mounting means comprising a toe pivot means mounted on said ski and adapted to urge said ski boot rearwardly into engagement with said spring, said toe pivot means being further adaptedto laterally pivot in response to predeterminedtorsional stress.

2. The ski binding of claim 1 including a long-thong attachment secured to said boot by means of a long-thong, said, attachment comprising a cross member extending across the heel, the ends of said member being positioned between said lobe portion'of the rotatable member and the top surface of the ski; two upright members extending from said cross member between said lobe portion and the side of said ski boot, said upright members terminating in eyelets adapted to receive said long-thong; said attachment cooperating with said lobe portion to prevent up and down motion of the heelof said ski boot until the force in the direction away from the ski exceeds the counterforce of said adjustable spring.-

3. The ski binding of claim 2 wherein the long-thong attachment has a pair of spaced anchor -pins extending from said cross member, said anchor-pins being seated within a pair of correspondingly spaced hollow-headed 5 6 screw members which are driven into the heel of said ski FOREIGN PATENTS boot, said anchor-pins and screw members cooperating 17,252 Norway 13, 1908 to prevent backward and forward sliding Of the long-thong 7 255 445 Switzerland Jam 17 1949 attachment 5 278,973 Switzerland Feb. 16,1952 Reeeeeeeee Cited in we file ef ehie eeeeee 132133?) 1;f? 33. i 71 1353 UNITED STATES PATENTS 563,877 Canada Sept. 30, 1953 1,964,103 Attenhofer June 26, 1934 

1. IN A SKI BINDING, A HEEL MOUNTING MEANS AND A TOE MOUNTING MEANS COOPERATING TO PERMIT RELEASE OF A SKI BOOT WHEN SUBJECTED TO PREDETERMINED FORCES, SAID HEEL MOUNTING MEANS COMPRISING A HEELPLATE MOUNTED ON A SKI, SAID HEELPLATE HAVING A PAIR OF UPTURNED EARS LOCATED THEREON SO AS TO BE ADJACENT THE SIDES OF THE SKI BOOT HEEL, A ROTATABLE MEMBER ATTACHED TO THE OUTSIDE SURFACE OF EACH EAR, SAID MEMBER HAVING A LOBE PORTION POINTING TOWARD THE FRONT OF THE SKI, A POINT OF ROTATION LOCATED REARWARDLY OF SAID LOBE AND A SLOTTED SECTION AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID LOBE LOCATED REARWARDLY OF THE POINT OF ROTATION, SAID SLOTTED SECTION HAVING A BOTTOM TERMINATION WHICH CURVES TOWARD THE REAR OF THE SKI; THE ENDS OF A TENSION-ADJUSTABLE SPRING MEMBER BEING SLIDABLY TRACKED IN SAID SLOTTED SECTIONS, SAID SPRING BEING ADAPTED TO SEAT IN AN INCLINED GROOVE IN SAID HEEL WHEN THE ENDS OF SAID ARE LOCATED AT SAID BOTTOM TERMINATION; SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER HAVING 